Chapter 15 – Crimson Ground
The city of Eclipsera no longer slept. It screamed.
Fire turned the skyline into a second sun, and smoke rolled through the streets like a living thing. The Blood Moon still hovered above, staining everything in crimson. Every shadow twitched; every heartbeat was a countdown.
Ren Arclight slammed a fresh mag into his rifle as he leaned against a wrecked police car.
"Everyone — inside the convoy! We're moving to the railway tunnel!" he shouted.
Behind him, engines roared to life: armored trucks, stolen sports cars, and a half-burned bus held together by desperation.
Riven — the Vampire King — leapt onto the hood of a car, eyes glowing.
"If we stop for even a minute, they'll surround us."
Kael — the Zombie King — cracked his neck, green energy crawling along his veins.
"Then we don't stop."
Highway Hell
Tires screamed as the convoy shot down the broken highway.
Zombies poured out of collapsed buildings, sprinting on all fours.
Riven drew his crimson blade and sliced through the first wave, sparks raining across the metal.
Kael jumped onto the roof of the lead truck and slammed his fist into the road. A wall of rotting spikes erupted behind them, impaling the chasers — but more kept coming.
Ren gunned the engine. "They're adapting!"
From the horizon, an entire swarm of winged mutants descended, shrieking through the smoke.
Riven spun, slicing midair. Blood-light carved the sky into ribbons.
Kael grabbed the side of the bus and hurled it into the swarm. Metal exploded; bodies scattered.
A missile from the human support vehicle streaked forward — but the shockwave flipped Ren's car sideways.
He gritted his teeth, spun the wheel, and slammed back onto the road. "We're not dying here!"
The Train of Blood
Ahead lay the underground entrance. The humans blasted open the gate and drove straight into the tunnel — but the path collapsed behind them.
"Abandon the cars!" Ren yelled. "Onto the train — now!"
They stumbled into an old bullet train resting on the tracks. Kael ripped open the control panel and forced the power on; Riven stood guard at the rear door, senses sharp.
As the train lurched forward, the echo of claws and moans followed them down the tunnel.
"Faster," Riven hissed.
Kael snarled, flooding the circuits with his energy. Sparks burst, the train screaming at impossible speed.
Then — impact.
The ceiling ripped open, and dozens of infected hybrids dropped in, claws slashing, eyes burning black.
Ren fired point-blank. Riven blurred through the cars, his blade painting arcs of red. Kael tore one mutant apart with his bare hands.
The tunnel filled with flashing lights, gunfire, and roars.
"Seal the doors!" Ren shouted.
Too late. The rear car exploded. A twisted hybrid twice the size of a man crawled in — half-vampire, half-zombie, born from the Beast's crystal seed.
Riven kicked it back, shouting, "Ren, disconnect the rear section!"
Ren slammed the emergency lever. The coupling exploded, sending the last car and the creature tumbling into darkness. The rest of the train rocketed onward.
Breakout
They burst out of the tunnel into open plains. For a moment, there was silence — only the wind and the distant burning cities.
Riven stared out the cracked window. "We can't keep running."
Kael nodded. "The infection's spreading faster than we can fight it."
Ren checked the radar — red dots blinked across every direction.
"We've got thirty minutes before they find us again."
Riven sheathed his sword. "Then we hunt before they do."
Kael's grin was sharp. "About time."
The train slowed near the abandoned outpost. Humans, vampires, and zombies — enemies yesterday — stepped out together, weapons raised. The ground trembled. The war hadn't ended; it had just learned to move.
Above them, the Blood Moon pulsed once — as if amused.
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